Writing your own knitting pattern?

This is it! I have decided to man up! I'm writing my own knitting pattern!
Now of course, I have absolutely no idea how to go about this. It's not something simple, it's a shirt-type-thing. I've been looking and looking at patterns, and just haven't found anything that I really like. So last night I said to myself; "Rachel. C'mon, how hard can writing your own pattern be? Man up! Try something new! It'll be a challenge!"
So here I am. I decided that since I have no idea what I'm doing at all, I'll base it on something that I already own. I actually bought it at a real store! And it's not knit. But it's kind of what I've been thinking I'd like. Only there aren't patterns for it...At least not free ones. And why would I PAY for a pattern?! So yes. So far, I've done a TON of math. I then knitted my 'swatch'. Which was followed by MORE MATH. Oh yes, and somewhere between the math and the swatch knitting I completed my very sad attempt at drawing it out. Now, I've not mentioned this before, but I really, really, REALLY can't draw. So this thing is horrible. Not at all even. But it's covered in numbers and lines now, so I guess it's not so bad...this whole process is turning out to be a bit overwhelming. One minute I feel as though I have it all figured out, and the next I have something else pop into my head that still needs to be figured out. And again, I have no idea what I'm doing. Are you supposed to have it all figured out before you start, or do you just go with the flow, and kinda just figure it all out as you come to it?
Not that I've really cared what the 'right' way to do things is up until now. But this just seems a bit more...hmm...official? Real? I don't know. I can't describe it. I suppose I'll just make my own 'right' way to do it. Unless I fail. haha So far, it's seeming like it'll work though...I'm just hoping I've gotten the math all right so it fits. And I'm also hoping I can get the top shaping right. Because that's seeming a little bit complicated.
But hey! I'm making it myself, so unlike most patterns, it's knit in the round! Hooray for no seams!!

Knitting stripes!

Yes! It is true! I knitted another bag!  I just finished it today. The 'finishing' I did today really only consisted of sewing in a few ends. But I really do hate that. So I put it off for a few days.
Anyways, it's cotton! So I can have it on my bare skin without any problems this summer. It's stripes. Stripes are cool. And fun to knit! When you're just knitting around and around in stockinette, it gets really old. Really fast. So stripes are a good way to break up the otherwise totally brainless knitting project.  They aren't hard to start in the middle of a project either, you just tie on the second color and go! Not to say that the very beginning knitter could just jump right into knitting stripes...But I'm confident it wouldn't take long. As long as said beginning knitter has confidence in themselves, and more so, in their knitting skills. I'm certain people can do more than they give themselves credit for.  And one of these days, I'll find a way to prove it! But for now, today, I'll leave you with a picture and a question:

Where do I find a model?

Knitting withdrawls

I haven't had much time to knit lately. I'm pretty busy during the day, and at night, I sit down and feel too lazy. Even to pick up my knitting. Which is horribly lazy, because since when do I not feel like knitting?! It's killing me! I've been working on this bag for like two weeks now, and I'm not done yet! Can't I just let the house fall apart, just for a few days? Just until I finish this project...It really wouldn't even be multiple days if I could stream all of my energies into the knitting!
But no.
Although I suppose I might get a little hungry eventually.
And the dog would want to go out.
And the laundry would need to be done.
And-and-and...!
Oh well. I'll finish it soon enough! And then the cycle shall start all over again.
Ahhh the joys of having a life other than KNITTING!


But alas! I must go make some popcorn for the youngsters!

Tatting sucks. Knitting wins!

I'm going to start up my knitting again today!!!!
I seriously can't handle not knitting for another day.
Tatting doesn't really suck, but I just can't handle tatting and watching something. Be it tv, or people.
So that'll have to take a little break.
Besides, I really miss my knitting. A lot. I'll work on tatting when I can focus more on only that. I'll get there, it'll just take me longer to learn to tat than it did to learn to knit or crochet. I guess that's what happens when you can't focus only on that one thing. Plus I really haven't found the kind of tatting pattern that I'm thinking of...
Don't' you hate it when you have a vision in your mind of what you want to make, and the pattern for it hasn't been written yet?!

Tatted wonder?

My bookmark failure is still there, sneering at me, screaming "HAHA! YOU FAILED!"
Well not really. But I am still extremely disappointed in that. I have started a new project this morning though! It's a medallion, and THIS is the pattern! So far I've had minimal mistakes, and been able to successfully take each of them out! I'm not sure I've got the lock join right, but I was sitting in church working on it so googling the proper way to complete that wasn't really an option. Oh well. My current technique is working well enough for this..And really this is more to work on my basics, and not so much to get everything exactly right. I'll work on that later on.

I do miss my knitting though. Like crazy. It's sitting here next to me right now. Calling my name. I must resist though! Not only will my finger get worse. Stupid...But I know that I'll not pick up this whole tatting adventure for a long time. And I'll basically be quitting then. And quitting is NOT an option. Not to me. Not now. So I guess I'm stuck with this lame tatting.

Okay so it's not lame. It is quite enjoyable. And amazing how you take a piece of string, tie a bunch of knots, and end up with something so wonderful! If you don't mess it up and finish it that is...

What are you working on?
What do you WISH you were working on?

Oh, and here's a picture of my current tatting adventure. I'm following this pattern so we'll see if I can get it completed....

One word: WOW.

WOW.
Tatting is proving to be a bit of a challenge! I found a simple bookmark pattern, and was SOOO close to being done with it, when I somehow had a massive brain fart, and forgot to flip the stitches!!! So now I took it out as far as I could...But got stuck...So I guess that is it. What do I do now?
Cry. Because I put so many hours into that stupid thing and I can't even finish it!
Start over. Possibly with that pattern. But most likely with a new pattern. The pattern wasn't my problem, my brain was.
Stick with it. Hey, a person can't give up every time they don't do as good as they would like! You won't get anywhere with an attitude like that! I'll get this, it'll just take me a little while.



I MISS MY KNITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A lot.
It's killing me. I'm so tempted to pick it back up and set this tatting down! My finger really needs to heal though.
And I shouldn't-nay, can't, give up on this tatting!
I WILL GET THIS!


So I shall leave it at that! I am over flowing with determination! And I'll definitely have to put up a picture or two of my extreme tatting skills!

Can YOU tat?

---I cannot knit. That causes sadness. I get this really thick callous on my left pointer finger...Occasionally it splits where the callous ends and the normal skins starts. Which is what happened this time. Although I have yet to figure out why. In the past it has always been, I thought, because my skin was really dry. But for once it's not! Oh well. I'll learn to tat instead.---


YES! Today is the day. I have begun the process. I AM LEARNING TO TAT! And man are those "double stitches" hard to get. I now understand why they say to start out with a thick crochet cotton. The tatting thread is so thin, it's really hard to see what's happening when you're tying your knots. The 'flip' just wasn't happening for me. I didn't even understand how that worked at first. But never fear! I at last discovered how that is supposed to work. And I should have gotten it from the start...I've moved on to the picot stitch now. I can totally get it to work. That's not my problem. My problem is, I cannot seem to figure out how much space to leave between the two ds's -double stitches- to make the loop a good size. They're either too big, or too small! I'll get it though.

And tatting patterns are NOTHING like knitting, or crocheting patterns! I do not understand how to read them. At all. I feel like I'm just floating in a stationary position with this learning part. I have yet to actually DO something. So, I looked up some patterns. My abilities aren't at that point yet. Which is just MORE motivation for me to get this whole thing figured out! I need to go go go! MAKE something!




I forgot what it was like to start at the very beginning of something.
Not knowing anything about it.
It's hard.
But maybe it's good for me...now when someone wants me to show them how to do something, be it knitting, or crocheting, I'll have a better understanding of where they're coming from.

There's my shuttle! A very ever so kind friend gave it to me! She also gave my some tatting string. -Or is it thread?- Wow, I have some proper terms to learn still!

And yeah, I've had these for almost a week now. But I totally LOVE them! They're Gingher. And I found them on clearance!! Very exciting. So I have these super awesome scissors to snip all of my tatting mistakes off.



All in all, this is going to be great! Tatting looks very intricate. Reading and following patterns here I come!

What do you want from me?

This is it. I need some input. Someone, somewhere, should tell me what to do. I have a bag on my needles right now. But...I like to have more than one thing...There is also that sweater I started...But that baby is a sore subject for me due to the lack of enough yarn. I will finish it, I just need to get a black sweater at the thrift store. The bag is just so simple! Mindless really. Knit. Around, and around...and around....and around......and around.........
This is why I like it when people pay me to knit. They just tell me what they want. I get the satisfaction of knitting something, without having to decide what to make.  It's hard to make something, when I have nothing to do with it when it's done...
What would YOU make if you were me?

Decisions decisions!

Okay. I really don't like deciding things sometimes. It would be so much easier if there was just some magical voice that shouted out at you what you should do whenever you're unsure. Wouldn't that make life so much easier?! I was really missing that voice yesterday, when I was looking for something to knit. I was on Ravelry last night for HOURS, and I just had no luck finding a pattern that I liked. I refuse to pay for a pattern...And although I'm very appreciative of the people that share their designs with the world for free...I will admit that occasionally, the better patterns aren't free. But that wasn't my problem last night. I like Ravelry for that because you can sort the patterns, so I just show ONLY the free ones!
But when you have no idea what you want to make, selecting a pattern is slightly difficult. I finally did decide on something though, and I have the yarn for it already. It's even cotton! Needless to say, I would enjoy another site like Ravelry...Or just more patterns on there. I feel as thought I've seen them all a million times already!

Vest-ish-ness!

So. I've moved onto my next knitting project. It's called the Summer Vest. Not that the name really matters to me. haha Anyways, the front is supposed to look like this, and the back should end up about like this! I'm excited about it. I'm using Red Heart Eco-Cotton Blend. Apparently it's made out of the end rolls of t-shirt fabric, with a little acrylic added. Anywho, I really like the feel of it, and can't wait to finish this vest! I've already finished the top, and just need to knit the bottom. Basically just knit back and forth.
On an even more excited note: I GOT SCISSORS!! =D  Not just any scissors...Gingher scissors. Yay for clearance at Michaels! They were only like 13 dollars. Which is half off. They're sooo gonna be perfect for my sweater dis-assembling that I'm starting to really do a lot. Eeeeh, yesss!!!!!!!
Hahaha I'm excited. I also discovered that I can, in fact walk and knit at the same time! Store-knitting here I come!

How much is enough?

What is the line between too much, and not enough? Is it possible to spend too much time knitting?
I've almost finished my third Shawl/Scarf/Neckerchief! I have two more rows and then the bind off.  It's orange. And lacy. I like it...I'm not quite sure what I'll do with it yet though? I'm beginning to worry that I'm going to end up with a stock pile of knitted items and nothing to do with them.  I mean, sure there's giving things away...But I really would like to sell some things at some point. I don't know. I don't know what I'll knit when I'm done with this either. I mean, sure, I have my sweater to work on. And I really should pick that baby back up one of these days...It's just that there are sooo many balls of yarn attached to it that it's so complicated to just knit one row! I'll get there though! I WILL FINISH IT!! I just need to come up with my second smaller project that is one of those pick-up-on-a-whim-and-go-with-it projects. Something smaller...like these..neck...THINGS that I've made. haha What would you make? And almost more importantly, What would you do with it when you were done??

On a brighter note:

I finished my shawl/scarf/neckerchief. Yes, I call it all three. Why? Because, quite honestly, I have no idea which out of the three is the proper name? Different people call them different things. Anyways, I think I'll share a picture!

There it is all pinned out!

And there it is all blocked out! -And yes, that is not me...I refuse to model my makings. hahaha-

Selling my knitting?!

How do you go about selling your knitting? Have you ever sold anything? If so, how do you price things? What if someone won't pay you....or refuses to follow your business rules??
SOME PEOPLE ARE HORRIBLE CUSTOMERS!!!

Shawls, lace, and stabbing myself.

So. I finished my 'shawlette' that I was knitting! You didn't even know I was knitting it did you?! It's lacy. Kind of a creamy color. And COTTON! The best stuff for your skin! I'm hoping to 'market' it...AKA sell it...As long as I can guilt someone into purchasing such a fine piece of worksmanship. haha It took me a few days, which equals a lot of solid hours. But they're actually fun to knit! I even have it all pinned out and blocked. Or would it be blocking right now since it's not dry yet? Whatever. It all comes out to mean, it's already done! I have my next yarn and pattern picked out, and I'm about to cast on for that one. It shall be orange, and quite lacy-ish!
My only worry is that I'll knit up a stash, and no one will want them. haha Ah well, time will tell, time will tell...

YARN!!

Okay. Maybe using yarn that I take from thrift store sweaters isn't such a great idea...I mean, sure it's cheaper. By a lot. And it's nice yarn too! But you run the risk of not having enough yarn to finish your project. For example, this sweater I'm working on knitting. There is NO way I'm going to have enough yarn to finish it. I have to make the sleeves longer now, and the body is no where near being even a third of the way done. And there's definitely not enough yarn. So now I have to ask myself, What do I do to fix this? There's no way on earth I'm taking it all out. And there's also no way to buy more of the same color. Another one of those thrift store sweater deals.
So here's what I'm thinking:
I'll extend the arms so that they'll for sure be long enough with the orange and gray now, to be sure I have enough for that. And then for the body, I'll try to get like a black color, and finish off the top of the body and the hood with that. I don't think that would look too bad, and then I would at least be able to finish my sweater.
And this for sure means, next time I try to knit myself a sweater out of thrift store sweater yarn, I'll use more than just two sweaters worth of yarn...